The Ten Worst U.S. Cities For Traffic Congestion

[Doomsday101]

According to the TTI, traffic in Washington D.C. is the worst, with each commuter losing an average of 67 hours per year in traffic. Los Angeles and San Francisco are tied for second place, with each municipality taking 61 hours annually from its commuters.

In fourth place is Newark, New Jersey, lumped into one miserable bundle with New York, New York. Drivers here can expect to waste 59 hours sucking down exhaust fumes each year, which is quite a bit worse than fifth-place Boston (with a mere 53 hours annually).

To the surprise of no one living in Houston, the Texas city is next on the list, with 52 hours of wasted time yearly (which is also the national average for very large cities). Atlanta and Chicago tie for seventh place (with 51 hours each), while Philadelphia and Seattle split the final spot, taking only 48 hours from commuters annually.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/02/22/ten-worst-us-cities-for-traffic-congestion/?intcmp=features#ixzz2Ldx2TEEC

[DFWJC]

The dark side of living in the suburbs. There are benefits too, of course. But hate the commuting, so don't so it.

I live in Dallas' Lakewood area.
In a green neighborhood with big trees everywhere, kids riding their bikes, neighbors that know each other and are involved, with a lake a few blocks away that has jogging trails and bike paths all around it, where we can walk to many restaurants or to get groceries....
and my downtown "commute" is 10 minutes door to door.

Spoiled is an understatement.

[Doomsday101]

The dark side of living in the suburbs. There are benefits too, of course. But hate the commuting, so don't so it.

I live in Dallas' Lakewood area.
In a green neighborhood with big trees everywhere, kids riding their bikes, neighbors that know each other and are involved, with a lake a few blocks away that has jogging trails and bike paths all around it, where we can walk to many restaurants or to get groceries....
and my downtown "commute" is 10 minutes door to door.

Spoiled is an understatement.

I live in Houston and work downtown but really have no problems getting to and from work. It takes me 20 to 30 min either way. No doubt there are some freeways in Houston that are horrible but I find different ways to get around it.

[WoodysGirl]

I live in Houston and work downtown but really have no problems getting to and from work. It takes me 20 to 30 min either way. No doubt there are some freeways in Houston that are horrible but I find different ways to get around it.
Yeah, you gotta know the detours. There's not much of a detour for me now when I go to the office since it's all beltway and getting off doesn't take off much time.

But when I worked downtown, I had several routes I could take to get to work on time. As soon as I would see an accident on my preferred route, I immediately took a detour.

[Doomsday101]

Yeah, you gotta know the detours. There's not much of a detour for me now when I go to the office since it's all beltway and getting off doesn't take off much time.

But when I worked downtown, I had several routes I could take to get to work on time. As soon as I would see an accident on my preferred route, I immediately took a detour.

same here. I check transtar on my pc and if the freeway is messed up I take Memorial drive all the way into downtown.

With the rodeo in town and all the trial riders at the park I may skip memorial today.

[Supercowboy1986]

I'm really surprised to not see Austin on this list. Austin traffic is horrible.

[Stryker44]

DC is an awful commute indeed. So glad I don't have to go in that direction anymore. Would often have to give 2 hours from what should have been a 30-40 minute commute...

[Stryker44]

DC is an awful commute indeed. So glad I don't have to go in that direction anymore. Would often have to give 2 hours from what should have been a 30-40 minute commute...

I think what compounds the commute is that you have a heavy number of residents who work for the federal government driving in from both north (Maryland) and south (Virginia) simultaneously...and a beltway that is way too small to handle the volume of traffic coming in at rush hour.

[Phoenix]

I definitely do not miss the traffic from all my years spent in both Atlanta and Houston. Miserable, both of them.

I see that we in DC are at the top of the list and I can believe that, but I boggle at anyone who actually would drive here, not when the Metro is so readily available.

[Stryker44]

I definitely do not miss the traffic from all my years spent in both Atlanta and Houston. Miserable, both of them.

I see that we in DC are at the top of the list and I can believe that, but I boggle at anyone who actually would drive here, not when the Metro is so readily available.

I think the trouble is that you have some people commuting from well outside the area which Metro serves, at least right now, and rather than drive to the nearest Metro they choose to make the schlep directly to work.

I also think the HOV lanes are underutilized, and wind up making the traffic far worse than it should be. With gas prices going up though, hopefully that starts to change.

The truth is though, Metro fare is often not low enough to encourage many from the burbs to drive there, park, and pay for both parking and Metro fare. Versus a city like New York where a one way ticket costs 2.50 regardless of how far you need to take the train. "Peak of the peak" Metro cost isn't cheap, unless you can get your employer to pick up the cost.

[StanleySpadowski]

The large amounts of tourists, especially foreign, really adds to the traffic problems of DC, add in inbound/outbound changes that screw with a GPS and the frequent closures for "official" reasons and it's a nightmare.

Trying to take shortcuts isn't easy either as one wrong turn can put you in some places that aren't safe.


Houston is scarier though as everyone wants to go 90 and you can't see in front of you because every other vehicle is a Suburban or dual-wheel pickup. I think tailgating is considered the true national pastime in that area also.

[WoodysGirl]

The large amounts of tourists, especially foreign, really adds to the traffic problems of DC, add in inbound/outbound changes that screw with a GPS and the frequent closures for "official" reasons and it's a nightmare.

Trying to take shortcuts isn't easy either as one wrong turn can put you in some places that aren't safe.


Houston is scarier though as everyone wants to go 90 and you can't see in front of you because every other vehicle is a Suburban or dual-wheel pickup. I think tailgating is considered the true national pastime in that area also.
Hyperbole... I drive a Honda and I don't go over 80 in the city limits. :p:

[Doomsday101]

Houston being the 4th largest city in the US so it does not come as a shock that traffic can be bad however I have lived here for over 40 years and if you know how to get around in the city the traffic is not that big of an issue. There are always alternative ways to get from 1 point to the other.

[joseephuss]

I'm really surprised to not see Austin on this list. Austin traffic is horrible.

Austin traffic is nothing compared to Houston and Dallas.

[Doomsday101]

Austin traffic is nothing compared to Houston and Dallas.

I agree. Austin is a sunday drive compared to Houston and Dallas, except when the UT football game let out. :D

[burmafrd]

Worst place I was ever at was Boston.

[MichaelWinicki]

Everyone should drive "The Beltway" in Washington just once during rush hour to really get a glimpse of how bad traffic can. It's stunning quite frankly.

I learned my lesson really quick when my daughter was living in Alexandria and we had to go around DC to get to her location.

The other "gem" in DC driving is that many of the roads change orientation from AM to PM or during specific days. For example on the weekend a street may be two-way but during the week it's one-way.

[dexternjack]

Having lived in Houston, SF and LA, the worst is LA by a mile. There are other routes to get around in Houston which makes it fair. SF is kind of land-locked with two bridges goin in or out but several shortcuts to move within the city. Their main prob is the 101 and I80.

LA is just plain horrid whichever road your on.

[MichaelWinicki]

Having lived in Houston, SF and LA, the worst is LA by a mile. There are other routes to get around in Houston which makes it fair. SF is kind of land-locked with two bridges goin in or out but several shortcuts to move within the city. Their main prob is the 101 and I80.

LA is just plain horrid whichever road your on.

I remember as a kid watching the late 60's version of "Dragnet" and "One Adam 12" and thinking whenever they showed a highway shot 'Wow! That's a lot of cars!' and it's gotten a whole lot worse.

[bigdnlaca]

Having lived in Houston, SF and LA, the worst is LA by a mile. There are other routes to get around in Houston which makes it fair. SF is kind of land-locked with two bridges goin in or out but several shortcuts to move within the city. Their main prob is the 101 and I80.

LA is just plain horrid whichever road your on.

LA is bad, but the good thing about LA is many of their main streets can take you through all of LA and are very close to each other. Unlike other cities where it is spread out by a few miles or change directions.

[BringBackThatOleTimeBoys]

Dallas if up there, even if it's not top 10.

A good perk is flex-time and/or telecommute to avoid at least some of rush hour - saves gas, wear-and-tear, and nerves. Moderated a fuel-economy forum and many talked about aggressive drivers seemingly wanting to bully drivers that didn't want to speed. I think in most cases, the truth is drivers simply don't give themselves enough time, then do crazy things on the road. If they are not familiar with the route, they are even crazier.

As bad as being in an area with lots of traffic is, the silver lining is they probably have lots of jobs. ;)

[CowboyMcCoy]

I live in Houston and work downtown but really have no problems getting to and from work. It takes me 20 to 30 min either way. No doubt there are some freeways in Houston that are horrible but I find different ways to get around it.

Houston is bigger in terms of surface area. It's the biggest city in that regard in the U.S. I think Austin could be on that list though.

[JonJon]

I thought Philadelphia would be higher. People actually park IN the street there, both on the sides and in the middle. I mean literally, park their car where other cars are supposed to be driving. I was there last year and there are many highly populated streets where there is a makeshift parking lot smack dab in the middle of the street. It's one of the most insane and ridiculous things I've ever seen.

[yimyammer]

The dark side of living in the suburbs. There are benefits too, of course. But hate the commuting, so don't so it.

I live in Dallas' Lakewood area.
In a green neighborhood with big trees everywhere, kids riding their bikes, neighbors that know each other and are involved, with a lake a few blocks away that has jogging trails and bike paths all around it, where we can walk to many restaurants or to get groceries....
and my downtown "commute" is 10 minutes door to door.

Spoiled is an understatement.

We're neighbors dude, I live on Vintage Place off of Bob-O-Link, where are you?

[yimyammer]

Having lived in Houston, SF and LA, the worst is LA by a mile. There are other routes to get around in Houston which makes it fair. SF is kind of land-locked with two bridges goin in or out but several shortcuts to move within the city. Their main prob is the 101 and I80.

LA is just plain horrid whichever road your on.

my experience as well. I was going to stay there for a month and decided to try and drive to the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside to check out its architecture but I got trapped in traffic while making a stop in Whittier and said screw it and just kept driving until I reached Vegas.

[DFWJC]

We're neighbors dude, I live on Vintage Place off of Bob-O-Link, where are you?

I'm over closer to Lakewood Viilage and whole foods. Went to Mi Cosina last night. You're north of me towards mockingbird. We use that park at the end of bob o link but south some parallel to the lake. Also use tietze park on skill an with the kids.

[yimyammer]

I'm over closer to Lakewood Viilage and whole foods. Went to Mi Cosina last night. You're north of me towards mockingbird. We use that park at the end of bob o link but south some parallel to the lake. Also use tietze park on skill an with the kids.

small world (thats me you've probably heard cussing & screaming on game day)

BTW, not a fan of MiCocina, like Matts mucho mas

[CliffnMesquite]

All these Zoners living in Lakewood. Wierd and a little creepy.

;)

[Signals]

The dark side of living in the suburbs. There are benefits too, of course. But hate the commuting, so don't so it.

I live in Dallas' Lakewood area.
In a green neighborhood with big trees everywhere, kids riding their bikes, neighbors that know each other and are involved, with a lake a few blocks away that has jogging trails and bike paths all around it, where we can walk to many restaurants or to get groceries....
and my downtown "commute" is 10 minutes door to door.

Spoiled is an understatement.Sounds like your neighborhood is primed for Homeland Security to show up and create a crime that makes national news. Kinda like the one in Newtown. JK :p:

[jimmy40]

The large amounts of tourists, especially foreign, really adds to the traffic problems of DC, add in inbound/outbound changes that screw with a GPS and the frequent closures for "official" reasons and it's a nightmare.

Trying to take shortcuts isn't easy either as one wrong turn can put you in some places that aren't safe.


Houston is scarier though as everyone wants to go 90 and you can't see in front of you because every other vehicle is a Suburban or dual-wheel pickup. I think tailgating is considered the true national pastime in that area also.and they speed up in the rain